Eight-year-old rescues father from smoking car following head on collision

A Garston father has praised the "courageous" actions of his young son helped get him out of a smoking car in the aftermath of a head-on crash in Bushey.

Steve Jones was driving eight-year-old Joshua to the first day of a sports camp at St Margaret’s Bushey Independent School for Girls on the morning Tuesday April 1 when the accident happened on Merry Hill Road.

The smash with green Vauxhall Corsa left Mr Jones, 37, unconscious for short period and when he came round he was dazed. However Joshua, who was also hurt by the impact, reacted swiftly to help get his dad out of their blue Jaguar X-Type.

Describing the moments before the crash, Mr Jones said: "I thought I would brace myself for impact in that second but in reality it was a bigger impact that I thought it would be. My airbag went off and I think I was knocked out for a couple of seconds.

"Then the next thing I remember is Joshua in the back shouting at me "daddy, daddy, get out, get out".

Mr Jones’s car was smoking after the impact as was the Corsa, which was nearby. Passersby helped the female driver in the Corsa get out and way before her vehicle burst into flames.

Meanwhile Joshua, who had hit his head in the crash, unbuckled his belt and helped his stunned father out of the car and further away from the damaged vehicles.

Mr Jones, a financial advisor, said: "In terms of an eight-year-old, he was courageous and pretty assured under pressure. He instinctively acted to look after his dad."